October 24, 2008

Cyberchondria

Dean Halverson

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/features/health/sfl-fit0917googledocssbsep17...

Read this article about the popularity of online self-diagnosis, now also called “Cyberchondria,” or, patients who think they’re sicker than they really are because they tried to diagnose themselves using the Internet. It may be frustrating for doctors, especially when patients think their digital diagnosis is more accurate than the professional’s.

While I understand that worrisome patients can frustrate clinics, I’m not convinced what is really going on is such a bad thing, because it’s basically another form of healthcare consumerism. Patients don’t want to just rely on their physician, so they take matters into their own hands and start their own information gathering process.

I say this because I met my new primary care physician last week at a routine physical, and instead of him telling me about my health, he quizzed ME. No, I didn’t know where me appendix was when he checked out my abdomen. No, I really didn’t know why blood pressure or cholesterol is important. So, he told me why.

He explained that he wants his patients to be the “captains” of their healthcare. He even encouraged me to use WebMD to check out my symptoms before I go to see him at a future appointment, as long as I let him make the final diagnosis. Patients who take charge of their health and want to learn tend to take better care of themselves because they are more informed, he said.

Some doctors fear the fact that health information is so readily available, and others clearly embrace it. But the bottom line is that informed patients make for healthier consumers, and they are going to keep driving change. It’s up to physicians and clinics whether to accept this positively or not.

»